Family of the Deep
by Hope Lightwing
Summary: Arthur has convinced the council to let Orm live out his sentence on land. If it just so happened to keep Orm alive and in a caring environment, well then, that's just a coincidence. Bits of stories and some one-shots I wrote after seeing Aquaman 2018. Mostly school assignments.


p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Chapter One: Sunset Surprise/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA conch horn blared from the open lighthouse door. Its deep resonant notes tumbled down the craggy cliffs, along the wooden pier, and out into the salty spray of the open sea. Sound seemed to fly above the waves as well as race along the rocky sea bed. Orm, who was standing at the end of the dock, felt the notes reverberate beneath his skin, making his hairs stand on end. His eyes followed the pier stairs up the grey rock wall. Tom, the lighthouse keeper, was standing at the door in his signature knitted hat and plaid shirt; the giant peach-colored shell in hand. He had blown the horn every night after dinner time for the past five days. Orm did not know what it was for; he was only told to "wait and see". He was rather irritated that no one would tell him, but from the way his mother and brother reacted, they did not know either. All they knew was that Tom would make an extra plate of food and then sound the horn. At last, something they would all have to learn about together. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Orm turned back to face the ocean. His short flaxen hair stirred in the evening wind. The sun was only beginning to set above the line where the sky and the sea met. The colors of impending dusk were soft and pastel-hued, signifying how far north he was. The soft yellows and pinks of the sky played beautifully with the white of the cresting waves. He thought he saw something break the surface of the water at the skyline, but it was too far away for even his keen eyes to make out. Unexpectedly, there came a resounding bellow from that same place in the horizon line. It shook the entire pier with Orm on it, causing him to fall to his knees onto the weather-worn planks. The roaring song was inexplicitly much louder than the conch horns call. It was in the same pattern, but this call shook Orm to his bones, to his very core. With ears still buzzing, Orm turned back to the lighthouse when he heard Tom's loud and joyous laughter. He was standing at the top of the cliff-side stairs with a large smile on his face. Right behind him was Orm's bewildered mother and brother. The surprise which the sound wave had hit Orm with was well worth the look of complete confusion on his brother's face. Orm's mother pointed to the ocean with a shout. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He turned back only to see an enormous figure directly underneath the surface of the water zooming toward the lighthouse. It looked like a whale, but no whale went over sixty miles an hour. Orm's vast knowledge of the sea and its creatures failed to supply him with an answer. Perhaps it was a submarine, but then again, man's underwater vessels could not yet maintain such a speed. The object was creating a massive wake and did not seem to be slowing. Orm couldn't move. His mind was telling him to fight whatever it was. His instincts were telling him to run. Yet, Orm sat still, watching. His mother cried out in alarm as the creature came within a hundred yards of the end of the pier. His brother called out at eighty. He could hear their feet thundering down the steps at fifty yards. Or was that just the pounding of his own heart in his ears? Thirty yards, then ten, then nothing…Suddenly, the water burst open as if it could no longer hold its gargantuan inhabitant. A wall of water as high as the cliffs surged up, blacking any view of the enormous shape. Orm closed his eyes and braced himself. The ocean-sized wave crashed down around him, yet he was amazingly only sprayed with a salty mist. Orm had fully expected to be soaked, if not swiped off the dock and into the swirling waters of chaos beneath him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He slowly opened one eye then the other, keeping them firmly on the dark wet wood contrasting with the dry faded wood around him. He felt water drip onto him from above. Orm slowly lifted his eyes up. And up. And up. And up. His eyes followed the thick speckled hide, to the scattered rough scales, up to large yet delicate fins, all leading his eyes to the absolute mess of twisting horns, thin antlers, textured fronds and colorful tendrils sprouting from the top of the creature's head. Despite the majestic presence which this strange crown lent to the creature, Orm could not help but think, "Horns and antlers on a sea creature: how is that in any way practical?" A loose tendril fell into the face of the behemoth drawing Orm's gaze down from the array, which reminded him of a sea urchin, down to the eyes. He could not tell if they were terrifying or beautiful. Perhaps they were both. The eyes were large and soft with no eyelashes on them. They had an ethereal element to them, but that is not what captivated Orm. The eyes were completely human, not even an unusual human eye, but a common brown colored eye. To see such an ordinary feature in the face of such a strange creature made such an ordinary thing stand out in a bizarre way. Orm was properly intrigued and mystified. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The cetacean had been holding very still ever since breaching the water. It gazed at him with gentle curiosity and learned patience. Orm looked away and shook his head to clear it. The colossus gave him a small sharp-toothed smile as he stood and backed away. It shook it head sharply, causing what Orm thought to be a clump of seaweed to come loose from its crown and tumble onto the pier at Orm's feet. It was a leather satchel with a pair of slightly damp sneakers clipped on with a carabiner. He picked it up and quickly moved away as the giant began to shift and the water once again began to churn. The creature hummed, continuing to sway as it began to glow. It leaned forward, putting weight onto the dock. The weight did not make the wooden structure groan nor break. The cetacean glowed until the outline of its form grew fuzzy against the colors of the fading sky. The leviathan began to change: it shrunk and lost horns. It dwindled and fins faded. It reshaped and condensed until its entire being was standing with two bare feet upon the pier. The light diminished and revealed a young human girl who only came up to Orm's chin. She was soaked. It wasn't even a nice soaked. It was a drowned cat, wet koala bear kind of soaked. The young girl walked over to Orm. Her eyes were the same brown color as the sea beast's, although, these had a swirling quality to them which made Orm have strange feelings. He couldn't tell if he liked the feeling or hated it. Orm realized he was still holding presumably her bag. He made a move to place it in her open hand when Tom barreled past and scooped the young girl into a firm hug, electing a happy squeal of surprise from her. Realizing there had been others who had just seen the startling transformation as well, Orm looked to where his mother and brother had been on their way down the stairs. They were standing stiffly at the bottom of the many steps. His mother was holding the conch horn to her chest behind his brother who was frozen with his water spear in hand. They were looking completely befuddled./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Orm started to laugh. He didn't know if it was the shock of the encounter, his family's faces, or simply the fact that this is what his life has now become. Orm laughed in a way which he had not in a long while; big, full, and sincere. Tom stopped whirling the drenched girl about with a smile. She looked at Orm as he slowly eased his laughing. She once again walked over to him with her hand out. Orm held out the leather bag, but she pushed it aside and gave him a firm handshake./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'm Hope" she said, with a voice sounding like it had been gargled in saltwater. She coughed a few times to the side. Looking up at Orm with a brilliant smile, she hugged him and with a happy although still scratchy voice said, "Welcome to the family. You must be Orm, my new big brother." Orm nodded and said nothing. All manners and etiquette went out the window. How many half-siblings did he have? He had bonded enough with his brother not to use the "half" term anymore, but still. Dealing with his brother was hard enough and now, apparently, he had a half-sister as well. She giggled and released him as if she knew his train of thought. She gently took her satchel and slipped it over her head. Hope took his hand in her small cold one and Tom put an arm around her shivering shoulders as the three of them began walking toward the lighthouse. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"At this point, Orm's mother and brother had come mostly to their senses. They nodded hello, still in the same state of confusion as Orm, but slowly coming into some understanding with him. Orm released Hope's hand as she and Tom began to climb the long zigzagging staircases up the side of the rocky cliffs. It became quickly apparent that Hope was struggling. Tom's arm was no longer around her for comfort, but for support as she trudged up the stairs with increasing difficultly. After she had tripped for the ninth time, Orm huffed. He wasn't taking note, but there were many more stairs to go and dark was now rapidly falling. He took her satchel off and handed it to Tom. Tom let slip a knowing chuckle as he removed his arm from around Hope's shoulders. Hope was so tired she didn't even object when Orm scooped her up. She was tiny, bony, and cold, but thankfully she seemed properly heavy. Tom led the way with Orm second and his mother and brother close behind. The five of them swiftly finished ascending the stairs in that manner. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Orm's mother opened the lighthouse door for them and they piled into the cozy living room. Salty looked up from his place on the couch with a wag of his tail but, quickly jumped off as Orm sat Hope down on it. Orm's brother brought blankets as his mother went to find dry clothes. Tom emerged from the kitchen with a cup of hot tea and the still warm dinner. With warm food in her lap, Hope seemed to perk up. She ate a little between yawns, but at least she was no longer shivering. Salty nudged her when she began to fall asleep. She smiled and patted his head as she yawned so hard her jaw popped and eyes watered. Orm's brother took her dirty dishes to the kitchen and Tom peeled away the now damp blankets. Orm's mother pulled her off the couch and led her away to change her clothes. Orm helped Tom get more dry blankets and turn the couch into a warm bed. Hope reemerged half asleep in a pair of Tom's flannel pants, one of Orm's mothers' old thermal shirts, and a pair of his thick socks. Tom laid her down on the couch and kissed the top of her head. She was already sound asleep when they wrapped the blankets around her and turned out the lights. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Orm offered to stay up in case Hope needed anything. They all said goodnight and Orm settled himself in the big armchair across from the couch. He glanced out the window. The sky was full of stars. No moon tonight, just stars. He looked back at the sleeping form on the couch. All of this was so new and he had a veritable mountain of questions which he wanted answers to now. Salty pick his head up from where he was lying next to the couch. He looked at Orm with an expression of "don't-you-dare." Orm sighed and looked back to the stars. If he could get beaten in a staring contest by a dog, he could wait till morning to ask questions. Until then, the stars would keep him company./span/p 


End file.
